Review 218: G&M Glenburgie 10 Year

Review 218

7/26/14

Gordon and MacPhail Glenburgie 10 Year: 43% abv

Background: What’s there to say about Glenburgie? More than you’d think, actually. Here’s the scoop. The Glenburgie distillery was founded in 1829, under the name of Kilnflat. The distillery ceased production in 1870 and went through a series of changes. Water has been a short commodity at Glenburgie, and they have exchanged, on and off, a series of stills called Loch Lomond stills, which are substantially different than the typical swan neck pot stills that are used in most distilleries. Now, the Glenburgie whisky we’re drinking today is interesting, because Gleburgie just built a new building in 2004, so this might not be the same whisky you’ll be drinking tomorrow if you find a bottle. This is a G&M bottling, an independent bottler that provides some killer whiskies. G&M do tend to be pricier than their Signatory counterparts though.

Straight

Nose:  The nose starts off malty and creamy, having a gentle bready aroma and full barley complexity. There is a good amount of lemon, lime and vanilla in the nose, with tangerine citrus, along with bits of pineapple and banana. There is some nuttiness as well, which counterbalances the advertent sweetness, with salty water and green tea leaves adding some bitterness. There is fresh green mint leaves, as well as other herbal green notes. The smell is crisp, clean, and fresh. The nose is complex and presents some unique aromas that are unusual in Scotch.

Arrival: The arrival starts off with a nice blend of sweetness and zestiness. There is a unique, but strong mintiness that comes out. There is some earthiness and maple wood in the arrival, with a syrupy honey flavor as well. There is a vegetal note, one of dewy grass, that is quite interesting. There is a bitter green tea in the arrival, along with some spurts of pine. There are some hot spices in the arrival, which carry into the body.

Body: The body presents a full flavor of fresh, cooling mint. There is also a wonderful fullness of cocoa. The body is woody and full of flavor. The body has some sugar notes to it, but it still has some earthiness and spiciness in it.

Finish: The finish is incredibly minty and refreshing. It is cool and has some botanical flavor like the arrival. Cocoa is present in the finish, with citrus and wood notes as prevalent contributors to flavor. There is a certain IPA-like flavor as the finish carries through the whisky. Look hard enough, and you might find a little bit of tobacco on the finish.

With Water

Nose: After adding water, there is a bit of brown sugar and floral notes that come through. The balance in the nose is fairly good at this point, with the citrus notes backing off and giving more play to the rest of the notes.

Arrival: The arrival comes off as much more spicy, with pronounced cinnamon and nutmeg in the arrival. The flavors are more balanced, with spiciness. The arrival loses some of the flavors from before, and replaces it with the vegetal, mineral notes.

Body: The body displays mineral notes and spices, still sustaining some of its previous character. The whisky is very peppery. The body presents some caramel notes that weren’t present before.

Finish:  The finish is now more malty than before, but displays some oily notes as well. It has a good blend of vegetal flavors and spices. The caramel from the body is very dominant in the finish.

Final Comments: This is a very excellent whisky. It provides a great balance, complexity, and an extremely unique character that we haven’t seen in a lot of whiskies. Although there are mixed reviews out there on Glenburgies, this is evidence that they can put out a really great product that is approachable and compelling for advanced drinkers and beginners. At 43%, this whisky presents itself as a46% whisky at minimum, although we wouldn’t complain if they gave us the extra 3%. It is important to realize, however, that despite this very positive review, Independent bottlers don’t promise the kind of consistency that you will find from the big companies. This is a major deterrent for some.

Why you’d buy it: You are looking for something outside of your normal Glens and you’re willing to take a gamble on an Independent Bottling

                                                                                                          

Why you wouldn’t: You’re a conservative drinker that doesn’t want to try something new and interesting, and good.

Score:  9.5/10

Review 217: Gentleman Jack

Review 217

7/12/14

Gentleman Jack: 40% abv

Background: Here we go. Occasionally, the KCM crew likes to step back to the classics. We have never done a Jack Daniels review and you shouldn’t expect many more, but this is an instance where a bottle has been purchased and is ready for judgment. Gentleman Jack is Jack Daniel’s attempt at making a middle-range bottling of Jack Daniels to charge customers more for. Would you guess they would raise the proof? Increase the age time? Do some unique finishing operation or change the mash bill? You’d be wrong on all accounts. Gentleman Jack gets the Tennessee treatment  twice, instead of once. This is charcoal filtering, and that allegedly makes Tennessee whiskey differentiable from Bourbon, which I won’t refute at this very moment. In an “informative” video, a man in a Jack Daniels shirt informs us that short finishes and lack of oak flavor in Gentleman are the staple qualities that set this thing apart. It also sports a classically cheap 40% abv, and this man informs us that often times it’s not what we taste, but where we taste it that’s important. I like to taste whiskey in my mouth. I’m sure by now we’re all excited to try this velvety smooth masterpiece.

Straight

Nose: Yes, this is sweet alright. They weren’t kidding with that. Instantly, smells of anise, candied cherries, vanilla extract and white sugar pronounce themselves. There is some confectionary aroma in this glass, with a very mild hint of grains. This seems like a corn-heavy mash bill, and  the sweetness makes the complexity difficult to find. There is a distinctive alcohol smell that actually becomes more pronounced as the whiskey opens up.

Arrival: The arrival starts very candied, with sweet artificial fruit flavors. The candied cherries are very dominant, and there is a sweet, syrupy flavor up front. It is almost maple in flavor. There is some spice as well that is distinctive in the arrival. There is some bitter fruit flavors in the arrival as well, such as slight cranberry, but none of it stays for very long.

Body: There are suggestions of oak flavor in the body, and is pretty thin. Hints of anise and hot spices come across in the body, but dissipate quickly.

Finish: The finish leaves with a strong taste of sweetened corn and some wheat flavor. There is some maraschino cherry juice in the finish, which is actually the most eventful part of the whisky. Gentleman just seems to do a good job of lacking substance. There seems to be an ashy, charry wood flavor that is retained through the finish, which serves as the most interesting feature of the whiskey.

Final Comments: Sorry, sports fans. I tried adding water and unfortunately there is nothing to report. So what is there to conclude. This is the pinnacle of gimmicky drinks. I guess it isn’t too bad, but it lacks balance, it certainly lacks complexity, and the most unique thing about it is it’s “smooth”. Folks, the fallacy that Jack is trying to promote with this bottle is that complexity and ease of drinking are mutually exclusive. Those things aren’t true. The idea that WHAT you taste isn’t as important as WHERE you taste it is just madness. This isn’t worth the money, it isn’t worth the bad marketing, and it isn’t worth the ignorance. It is drinkable, and it is tolerable, but it doesn’t engage the drinker. Overall, this isn’t worth buying, and Jack Daniels will find that our generation of drinkers isn’t looking for something lacking in dynamics.  

Why you’d buy it: You’re a Jack drinker and you want to splurge on something more expensive, and just as bad.

                                                                                                          

Why you wouldn’t: See review.

Score:  6.75/10

Review 216: Ardbeg Ardbog

Review 216

7/1/14

Ardbeg Ardbog: 52.1% abv

Background: Here’s another Ardbeg for the peat lovers out there. Very lovingly named Ardbog, this whisky is another statement from the Islay powerhouse that introduces a different style into the mix. Oddly enough, although you won’t see it on the front of the bottle, the back of the bottle drops a hint that this whisky is 10 years of age. Maybe the expensive tag on this bottle doesn’t sound 10 Year-like? Another unique thing about this whisky that sets it apart is that all of those ten years are spent in ex-Manzanilla sherry casks. Although we have tried a lot of sherried whiskies, Manzanilla is a sweeter, less frequently used variant that has yet to find its way in one of our reviews. A theme of the Ardbog is to emphasize the historical relevance of peat, which explains the surplus of fossils and random artifacts presented on the packaging. Apparently, if you drank Ardbeg during that History final, you might not have failed. In any case, Ardbeg has been active in releasing limited edition variants and now we have to find out if it’s worth your limited budget.

Straight

Nose: Although the nose is initially pretty overbearing, there are some interesting notes that come out without water. There is a grilling smoke smell that emanates from the glass, with savory, meaty flavors present up front. This includes campfire wood and sweet maple. This whisky is in essence completely reminiscent of a family camping trip up north. There is some sweet apple on the nose, with brown sugar and candied bacon also adding sweetness. The sherry presents itself on the nose with a molasses-like, concentrated Cognac and rum smell. There is a tinge of spice in the nose, but it is very subtle. There is also a light cigar aroma in the whisky. Ultimately, the nose is very dense and rewarding, but it can be challenging to extract flavors with the high alcohol.   

Arrival: The arrival is spicy, syrupy, and doesn’t hold back on the peat. There is a really concentrated peat and ash flavor, complimented by the subtle sweetness of the Manzanilla sherry. The spice is close to clove and black pepper. There is some black tea flavor that comes through as well, but it is hard to pick up too much due to the high concentration of alcohol. There is some molasses in the arrival.

Body: The body carries the peaty, ashy flavor from before, but also takes on some salty, briny character in the whisky which is very enjoyable. Salt water is present, but there are also a high level of tannins as well.

Finish: The finish is fantastically peaty, with a strong, dry tobacco and ash finish. There is a grainy character as well, but it is very limited. There is certainly alcohol heat present, and drives a quick finish. The sweetness is not substantial through the finish.

With Water

Nose: The nose certainly doesn’t become tame with a few drops of water. It is very lively still, but reveals some desired complexity in maltiness, light cinnamon and brown sugar, sea salt and

Arrival: The arrival is more pleasant after adding water. Clove, nutmeg and cinnamon become pretty dominant in the arrival, with tea leaves and dried nuts also present.

Body: There is a lot more spice in the body after adding water. The wood is very dominant, and there is dry vegetal notes that take place in the whisky. The peat is very strong in the body, and it tends to be a bit more aggressive after adding water, where the alcohol isn’t just covering the smokey character.

Finish:  The finish still remains relatively bitter, taking on the tobacco, tea leaves, slight sherry and woody notes to it. The whisky is slightly leathery, and the vegetal notes from the body carry into the finish. The finish offers up some complexity in tarry, medicinal notes. Some of the phenolic character is very strongly present in the finish, and dwells.

Final Comments: Admittedly, this is a very tough one for KCM. This whisky has challenging aspects to it, and it presents itself as a very dense whisky, but I can’t seem to avoid the fact that this is lacking in some complexity. When I compare this to Uigeadail, it doesn’t really compare, in all honesty. It is a good whisky, and I really enjoy drinking it. In fact, it grew on me. I was initially pretty disappointed with it, admittedly, but it still lacks in some spark. I don’t believe a fan of sherried peated Scotches would really frown on this bottle, but I just fail to want to pick this over the standard offering. That being said, it wouldn’t hurt somebody to try this whisky, and if you’re a fan of Ardbeg, this isn’t far outside the range of accessible whiskies.

Why you’d buy it: You like the monster peat, high proof stuff, and Laphroaig isn’t your style.

                                                                                                          

Why you wouldn’t: Ardbeg Uigeadail

Score:  8.5/10